


Prince of Stars

by Acequisitor



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: AlteanPrince!Lance, Alternative Universe - Galran and Altean Prince, Angst, Don't be fooled though Keith is still half human, Eventual relationship, Everyone except for Shiro and Keith are pretty much altean, F/F, Fluff, GalranPrince!Keith, Gen, M/M, Pretty sure I suck at tagging at this point but you get it I hope, Slow Burn, So Altean Hunk Pidge Matt Sam and all that good shit, The AU no one asked for, but you got anyways, flangst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-14
Updated: 2017-01-04
Packaged: 2018-08-12 12:46:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,421
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7935082
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Acequisitor/pseuds/Acequisitor
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ketih is only a young prince, with a father who rules half a galaxy. As he grows through cycles, he finds he no longer belongs by his father's side. He's not Prince Ketih. He's Keith, and he belongs as a Paladin of Voltron.</p><p>Or: Keith is a Galran Prince trying to impress his father but ends up setting into motion a whole series of events to destroy his father's empire.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Keith's Galran name is Ketih (Keh-tee), the origin of his human, and chosen, name will come later within the chapter. 
> 
> I actually got this one Beta'd, so enjoy.

“Open the pods immediately!”

 

That was all he heard before blaring alarms going off and a sound of pressurised air echoed in his ears as the door in front of him slowly parted. Warmth filled him as the glass opened before him. His consciousness was slowly flooding back to him. Where was he? Why did the ground at his feet feel so cold? Why did he feel so empty?

 

A small groan pushed out of his throat as a slender hand reached into the pod and pulled him out. “Awaken, fool,” was all he heard before being practically dragged out of the pod he once inhabited.

 

His feet pattered against the ground as he looked up to a young man with purple skin and white hair. His eyebrows furrowed as he continued to stare and the young man gripped him by the dark neck of the body suit he wore. “Are you there, fool?”

 

The young man was fairly done by this point. His patience degraded by the second. The alarms instantly turned off as a woman with a craggy voice entered the room.

 

“Lotor, put your brother down.”

 

“Haggar, this doesn't involve you,” the young man, now labeled ‘Lotor’, retorted.

 

“If you're threatening the life of a crucial pawn, then yes, it does.”

 

“This wasn't my fault; the pod began to malfunction. Though, that sort of thing happens when you've frozen someone for 10,000 years straight, in the same pod the whole time,” Lotor grew more impatient by the second, a hand still grasping the collar of the boy’s bodysuit. Lotor soon released his grip and the boy went falling to his knees.

 

“Ketih, rise,” the witch named Haggar called out to him. Her gaze was too strong not to obey and he found himself rising. Was he Ketih? Apparently. His body was practically reacting to it on its own.

 

“He seems lost,” Lotor noted as he watched Ketih rise. “Was the freezing damaging his neurological processes?”

 

Ticks passed as Haggar examined Ketih up and down, “No, that's never happened, but maybe the malfunction had something to do with it.”

 

Lotor opened his mouth to reply, but they were interrupted by what seemed to be a robot soldier entering the room. “The perpetrator has been caught and facing consequences,” they reported, standing tall. This forced Ketih to realize he was in the presence of authoritative members of... wherever he was.

 

After another second of examining Ketih from afar, Haggar scoffed before approaching the soldier. “Report to Zarkon. I will be there soon to do so as well,” she ordered as she turned to Lotor. “Take him to his quarters and get him dressed. Report to your father with him afterwards.”

 

Lotor nodded, almost reluctant as the two others left the room and Lotor gripped Ketih’s wrist, “Let us go, brother.”

 

This caught him off guard. Ketih looked down to see Lotor’s hand on his wrist. They both seemed to be of different pigments. Ketih’s skin was of a pale tan, while Lotor’s of a strange, dull purple. Not to mention Lotor’s nails resembled those of claws.

 

He simply nodded with a simple, “yes,” as an answer and was pulled by Lotor through a darkened ship to a luxuriously large room. He led him to a closet that opened to reveal armor.

 

 

\-------------

 

 

Time seemed to pass by slowly. From what Ketih had heard, a few cycles had already passed. He wasn't exactly sure how long that was, considering space, itself, didn't represent time passing too well, but it was long enough to for him to remember who he was. Maybe not exactly, but clues to a puzzle he could piece together.

 

He’d began to regain memory lost at the time of the pod malfunction and his vocabulary was beginning to return. It occurred to him he was familiar with many languages, most of which the other Galra weren't familiar with. Where he learned them from still hadn't come back to him, but it filled him with nostalgia.

 

He was beginning to become bored with his current life. Supposedly, he now directly served his father with Lotor, whom was the overlord known as Zarkon. His brother Lotor often spoke spitefully about him, and he honestly could never remember his brother ever being this verbose with him. Of course, this was only as far as he remembered.

 

Although his time was now constantly filled with sword training and hand-to-hand/face-to-face practice he thoroughly trained in, his father wasn't willing to send him out yet. Zarkon had a sense of possessiveness when it came to Ketih’s safety, and Ketih wasn't sure where it came from considering the way Zarkon mercilessly treated others and, from more of what he'd heard, almost half the universe. He began to wonder if maybe his appearance had something to do with his hesitation, but Ketih was strong enough to best even Zarkon’s top officers by now.

 

His father’s coddling had begun to annoy him and slowly his opinion of his father began to inch closer and closer to that of Lotor’s own. He was allowed to sit in on important audiences, yet he was always refused the ability to take action and help the Galran army. Within the language of the Galra, he began to notice a translation to his favoured language. Constant words of this ‘Voltron’ were a common occurrence upon his father and his officers. Uses of colours filled the conversation as well, mostly that of blue, red, and -what seemed to be the colour focused on the most with his father- black.

 

 

\-------------

 

 

According to the information he gathered through sitting in on conversations, they'd captured this ‘Red Lion’ and were holding it on one of the main military ships led by Sendak. They were in the midsts of choosing a pilot fit for the lion’s stubborn personality.

 

This could be the perfect time for him to prove himself to his father, so he spoke up with a loud, “I want to try to pilot the lion,” echoing through the room.

 

Zarkon’s rage had been building up to this point, what with the lack of cooperation among his officers. A loud, thundering response filled the room, “NO,” which was clear to Ketih this was the final breaking point of his loyalty to his father. This also seemed clear to Lotor, having also accompanied this audience with Ketih.

 

After the audience, Ketih stomped off to his room, followed by a familiar tapping of shoes behind him. His anger bubbled at the constant tapping behind him, and he turned to see his brother tagging along.

 

“WHAT?!” he roared angrily, Lotor not even giving a flinch.

 

A smile graced his face, cheekbones rising, his lower eyelids also rising the bottom of his yellow eyes. Like Ketih, Lotor was also a Galran hybrid of sorts, yet unlike him, he donned more of the appearance of a Galra. He began to remember this as his memories return to him, and jealousy filled him as his father allowed Lotor the pleasure of traveling out into the universe to battle and claim lands in his Zarkon's name and his honour.

 

“You want to try your luck at piloting the lion,” Lotor replied, this sounding more like a statement on his part, smile still gracing his face.

 

This filled Ketih with caution, anger still overlying the sense of it, but he looked to the ground. He then looked up to Lotor, filled with determination, “No. I will pilot the red lion.” Just imagining the look on Zarkon’s face as Ketih actually had something to prove was motivation enough and only pushed his desire to want to pilot the lion. The desire to need to.

 

Silence settled over the hallway as Lotor and Ketih failed to break eye contact; Lotor, still with a shit-eating grin, broke the silence with a simple response, “Good.”

 

 

\-------------

 

 

He didn't know how Lotor had done it. In all honestly, he didn't want to. Knowing his brother, it probably had something to do with an underground black market network, or something to that degree. Ketih didn't really believe that, but the thought of it was what kept him speeding the process along before there was any chance of him getting caught.

 

He couldn't go back, not now. He was pretty sure he was only a prisoner of his father, and he couldn't let the chains of his genealogy constantly drag him back, back to the same dark room he’d found himself… Confined every day, and every night. He wanted to leave, and that's just what he was doing. Yet, he didn't feel free. Not quite yet.

 

Ketih made his way down a dark hall. Or just a hall. It was hard to call this “dark” or out of the ordinary when every inch of Galran ships were unlit in general, unless by symbols or ground lighting. It wasn't helping that he had a full face mask on at the moment.

 

His senses weren't exactly as heightened as other Galrans. He was a half-bred, after all. Their nocturnal senses reminded him of what he’d known as a “bat” in the English language, the language he’d favoured with nostalgia. The dark atmospheres were clearly an advantage to them as most species thrive off light for their sense of sight; and, his human-half possibly being one of such species.

 

If anyone were to catch him, he was sure he’d be taken back or even worse, dragged into the dungeon after being mistaken for a prisoner. His pale skin didn't necessarily scream ‘I’m Galra’ nor ‘I’m a prince of your empire’. Just the nervous thoughts passing through his mind made it hot and hard to breathe in the helmet covering his face.

 

He had to have made it halfway through the ship by now, he was sure of it. Ticks were passing by as fast as other guard’s feet tapping on the ground. He hadn't been caught yet, and he was glad. He still needed to find the location of the Red Lion, and it was the only thing pushing him forward.

 

He saw a door, to the guard room he assumed. It was where Lotor’s connections had told him he could obtain the location of the Red Lion. He was ready, his pace quickening as he approached the room. The doors opened up to reveal guards behind the door in front of him.

 

He jumped back as fast as he had gotten there, shocked. Ketih looked up through the helmet to a young man in front of the screen, in a prisoner’s outfit and holding a gun in his left hand and his right to the computer panel, which was glowing. He had black hair much like himself, but much shorter, an undercut and with a white bunch of hair lying in front of his forehead. His hand on the board seemingly glowed the colour his father’s armour did. Quintessence, surely, but how was it channeled into an arm? It was nothing like he'd seen, not even on Sendak.

 

“Damnit!” the man practically growled and raised both hands to the gun, beginning to shoot at him. A laser grazed Ketih’s forearm as he struggled to dodge, scraping what his armour couldn't protect. His skin burned, but he had no time to look down and see how bad the damage was.

 

English. He’d known this language. Finally! Someone who wasn't speaking Galran was in front of him. Shooting at him, yeah, but speaking to him.

 

Ketih dodged the bullets as best he could. Of all he Galran disguises he received, of course this one wouldn't have a weapon out in the open, and his dagger was behind him. With all the dodging reaching for it would impede his movement. As he dodged, he found himself tripping over a dead guard, the man approaching him.

 

Ketih held his hands up in what he inferred to be a surrendering motion. Hopefully it was universal or this Galran prince was about to die.

 

The man paused, finger shaking on the trigger. Time seemed to slow until the man finally pressed it, Ketih leaning back and having it barely miss him. Him, but not the his helmet.

 

A loud clank filled the room as Ketih’s helmet flew to the wall with the pressure of the laser, leaving his face open, eyes connecting with the man’s.

 

“Human…? You're human?” the man whispered as he lowered the gun. Ketih took his slight hesitance as a chance to look down to see the damage to his arm. It was…

 

It was purple.

 

Not burned or bruised…

 

His skin was just a tone of purple,like Lotor’s and other Galrans.

 

“Do you speak English?” the man asked, pushing Ketih for an answer with an authoritative tone, one much like the one his father pushed on his subject. It made him wince for a second, and he found himself looking to the man who was just seconds ago shooting at him. His eyes now looked at Ketih with surprise instead of contempt.

 

“Y-yes. English. That's it, English. I speak English. Just English. Good English,” Ketih stuttered in an attempt to not seem suspicious. With his lack of social opportunities, he was more than positive he was failing.

 

The man sighed and held his left hand out, “Are you escaping? I can help.” This man seemed too suspicious himself, too trusting. Though, considering he seemed to be in prison wear, and him believing Ketih was human, he could only guess this was a momentary sanity lapse of seeing another human on the ship. He was probably abducted… The thought seemed nostalgic, like he’d been or known someone in the very situation the man was in… It made him feel almost safe… But the moment passed over him in a matter of ticks.

 

“Yes, I am,” Ketih answered, reaching for his hand. The other man pulled him up with great strength, surprising him considering this man was in prison wear. Usually prisoners were malnourished, but seeing as there were two dead guard on the ground, he mentally shrugged it off.

 

“Good, the name’s Shiro,” he added as he made his way back to the computer.

 

“Ketih…” he mumbled back, in response, as he looked to the computers in front of them.

 

“I’m sorry what was that? Your name is Keith?” Shiro questioned. He had not clearly heard Ketih’s name, obviously.

 

“It’s-”’ Ketih stopped himself midway realising his error. This ‘Shiro’ probably knew more about what a Human’s name was than he did. His Galran name probably wasn't even heard of down on this man's planet. What's more is that this was a chance to reinvent himself, truly. Void of the labels he’d been given as a Prince and the name given by his father. ”Uh, right. It’s Keith,” he answered. Wanting to quickly change the topic so Shiro couldn't ask more of his newfound name he continued, making his way to the computer screen, “Let me help, I know a way out.”

 

Shiro turned to him with a questioning look, but nodded in confirmation, “Right, you seem more readily prepared for an escape considering what you're wearing.”

 

“Yeah… Right,” he nearly mumbled, again, under his breath as he typed into the computer.

 

“You read Galran?” Shiro asked curiously.

 

Shit, he forgot, he was supposed to be a human right now. Not Ketih, he was Keith. Just a human. Not half-Galran. A prince, at that.

 

Ketih chuckled nervously, “I’m just remembering what I’ve seen typed into a computer before.”

 

“Right,” Shiro sighed.

 

A red dot popped onto the screen as he found the location of the Red Lion, alarms suddenly blaring.

 

“ALERT. ALERT.”

 

The words followed along with what he assumed was a ship wide announcement calling out the identification, two of which he wasn't aware of. He could only assume one was his and the empire knew he’d gone awol. It was not his intentions, in the least, to get caught.

 

“SHIT!” both men yelled frantically, looking to each other.

 

“We need to get moving!” Ketih yelled to him, grabbing Shiro’s left arm and running out of the room. Even the alarm’s screaming couldn't hide the sound of hard metal tapping on the ship’s deck, and he began to sweat.

 

No, he couldn’t go back. Not now. Not when he was so close.

 

 **Right. He was Keith. There was no going back to anywhere. There was nowhere, and nothing, Keith had. Just a name. He could only trek forward from here, to his new life**.

 

 


	2. Now Is Not The Time, Keith

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith, I hardly think now is the time to fight a giant, sentient, red lion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Regular update schedule? What's that??????
> 
> Doesn't matter. Here's the next chapter, yeah?
> 
> Thanks for all the Kudos and Hits!!!! I love you guys so much, thank you!!!!!!!!!! :3c

They kept running, and left the quickly paced thuds of metal boots behind them. Keith knew his way around a Galra ship - or so he thought- and dragged his new human companion down the halls in an attempt to lose the galra that closed in on them.

“We’re going to make it… We have to…” Keith quietly reassured himself as they ran through the ship. With every quiet mumble he could feel the grip on his hand tighten, almost comforting. As if everything would be alright.

Again, nostalgia kept hitting home. This wasn’t the time, nor place, for the random outbursts of nostalgia and he still didn't know where they had come from or why he kept feeling this way. All he knew was the grasp of the other human was comforting him as they were panicking through the ship.

“Turn left,” called out Shiro as they neared a fork in the corridor. Keith, of course, already knew this, but nodded as if to reassure the other human his input was worth him noting, anyway.

They turned left and soon came across a door. Keith sped up, released Shiro from his grip and slammed the door open.

They both rushed into the room and as the door shut, shots are fired; though, they went unheard as both of them were in shock and awe. Before them stood - or sat, rather - a giant, red, mechanical lion.

“Red…” Keith mumbled to himself as they both continued to stare. He only had it’s colour to call it, seeing as his father referred to it as such.

They both stood there staring for a good few ticks. They were interrupted in their moment of awe when the door opened and reality hit them. Keith shoved Shiro towards the lion.

A slight, “ugf,” was heard from Shiro, but he recovered quickly so Keith had assumed he was fine. Humans couldn’t have been that weak. He was half human and he wasn’t dead, yet. The other man could just suck it up.

Keith shrugged it off, and adopted a fighting position for the Galra that had invaded the room. The soldiers crowded at the front of the room and Keith pulled out his dagger, having the time to actually reach for it.

 

-

 

Shiro rubbed his shoulder, because damn, that other boy had one hell of an arm. He quickly noted the amount of Galra crowding around the door and Keith readying to fight them. Not only did Keith have a strong arm, but he was apparently determined.

He blinked twice noticing Keith now held a dagger. He didn’t notice him having one beforehand, and he didn’t know where he’d gotten it from. Keith was definitely more prepared for an escape by a long shot.

Where had Keith found a guard’s armour and a dagger? He had no idea, and honestly, he didn’t want to know. For now. His attention was returned to the Red Lion and he ran to the forcefield set around it. He placed his hand on it. It didn’t show any signs of opening, disappearing, or letting him through.

He heard a grunt behind him, Shiro turned and was barely able to dodge a gun's fire. He quickly moved away and examined the room. They needed a way to get the guards out, and a quick one at that.

He saw a panel in the close by, and ran to it, stooping in an attempt to go unnoticed while Keith kept their attention. As Shiro reached the panel, he tried to read it just to find out it was all in Galra. They were definitely nothing like humans. No courtesy to even put other languages with panel directions. It was a mess, but, it did have a big red button on it. Usually this was some cliché “DANGER” button in Earth movies, but hey, they weren’t on Earth, now were they? He only hoped that big red buttons in the middle of a panel weren’t universal for a big “Fuck you” button, and he needed immediate help, so he took his chances with the button.

 

-

 

Keith avoided each blast that was thrown at him. He got the hang of facing these guards by himself until a vacuum of wind begun pulling him back. He looked back to see Shiro at the control panel of the room and a slight ‘Oh shit’ face growing. Looking further past him to the ground, it was obvious what he’d done.

“Fuck,” Keith mumbled as he brought his attention back to the Galra who paused their fighting to try to find balance. Seeing they had been occupied, Keith took a chance and ran towards Shiro yelling, “What the FUCK?!”

“Help. Help, help.” Shiro cried out, panicking as the airlock continued to open. He was lost and didn’t know what to do. His grip on the control panel tightened as the pressure grew in the room from the airlock.

Keith held his hand out to Shiro as he realized it wasn't the best idea to run towards outer space without a suit, “SHIRO!?” Sure the risk was calculated, but boy was he bad at math.

“Ah, shit, Keith!” Shiro mumbled under his breath as he held out his hand. “Grab on, now!”

They grabbed hands as several Galra flew by them out of the airlock.They made panicked eye contact with each other as they tried not to scream.

“What did you do?!”

“I don’t know, I just pressed a button! I was trying to help, I swear!”

“Shit, Shiro, you can’t just go around mashing random ass buttons!”

“I know this now!”

Keith finally brought his attention to the unmoving lion. A moment passed as they seemed to be a staring contest.

“It’s me! Ket- Keith! I’m your-” Keith paused and tightened his grip on Shiro’s hand, “I’m your pilot! Open- Help me already, dammit!” he began to yell.

“Keith, hold on tighter. I can’t reach the button to close it.”

“It’s not going to matter,” he raised his voice in an accusing tone, “if this thing just opened up or helped us already! You heard me, you red lion! Help me! I am your pilot! Listen to me!”

“Keith, I don’t think-” Shiro gasped as his grip on the panel loosened, the vacuum of space still pulling at them. “Now is not the time for a fight with a giant mechanical lion.”

Keith scoffed as he tightened his grip, readjusting again, as he finally looked back to Shiro. His face was filled with despair. “Is this… Is this how it ends? I run away and die in the abyss of space because someone,” he choked out, “couldn’t just wait for me to hold off a couple of guards.”

“Look, it’s not the end. Hold on, buddy. The room will pressurise eventually… We’ll make it out,” Shiro reassured.

Ticks passed as they stared at each other. Shiro’s grasp got looser and looser with every passing tick. Keith finally broke eye contact and glanced to the lion.

“No, Shiro… You’ll make it out,” Keith whispered, looking back to the other Human. “I wish you the best of luck with escaping. Maybe the stubborn little lion will listen to you.”

“Keith, wait, what are you-”

Shiro was cut off as Keith loosened his grip, slipped out of his grasp, leaving Keith with one last smirk on his face. Finally, he’d been sucked out of the room in nearly a tick.

“KEITH!” was all Keith heard before he began to choke from lack of oxygen in the open abyss of space. Slowly, his eyes closed as he breathed what he thought his last breath out in this cruel emptiness.

 

-

 

“... eit..? ... Kei... ? Ar.. oka… Ple… se… B… al…. ve...”

Warmth filled him as his breathing slowed. His consciousness begun to flood in slowly. “... _Mom_..?” came a raspy whisper from him.

“Keith, are you okay?!”

Keith shot up and gasped. He breathed quickly, afraid that he wouldn’t be able to at any second. He was in some metallic structure and Shiro was right next to him.

His breathing showed no signs of slowing as he looked around himself, scoping out the area. “W-wha… What is this…” he managed to get out as he looked back to Shiro. His face was contorted with worry.

“Oh my god, Keith! Never do something like that again!” Shiro fretted as he quickly brought Keith into a tight embrace.

“Goddess, Shiro!” Keith wept out as the embrace brought pain to his chest as his breath continued to labour.

“Crap, right. My bad,” Shiro sighed, then a tick passed. “... Also did you call me mom?” he asked.

“No, no did I say mom? I think I said something else,” he gasped. In his defense, anything anyone says while they’re only semi-conscious should not be held against them. Also, Keith didn’t know why he even called out ‘mom’, since he couldn’t even remember his mom. He found it curious, in the least. Something about Shiro kept making him feel safe enough to lean on.

“Really? I think I’ve been mishearing a lot of things today…” he sighed.

“Ahahaha.. Right, mishearing things. Thankfully you didn’t mishear my name, haha,” he nervously coughed out.

“Why’s that?”

“No reason, no reason at all. It would just be awkward…. You know, if you just started calling me the wrong name and I just never corrected you…”

“Okay, out with it.”

“What?”

“You’ve been acting suspicious, Keith. And I know I probably have no room to talk, but you’ve seemed on edge since we’ve met.”

  
“I- I really don’t know what you-”

“Keith.”

“Right… But first tell me where we are…”

“We’re in the Red Lion.”

“You can’t be serious…” Keith gasped in disbelief. “You aren’t, are you? You are. Why- How!”

“After you so kindly ejected yourself from my grasp, the shields dropped immediately,” Shiro shrugged. “It then swallowed me whole, which let me say scared the living crap out of me, but then it flew out of the airlock to swallow you. Guess you left your impression on the ‘stubborn lion’,” he explained, “and after that, she flew quickly out of the range of the Galra ship. Lasers and all.”

“Okay, well….” Keith snorted nervously, “What if I told you that wasn’t the weirdest thing that you’ve seen today?”

“It’s going to be pretty hard to beat being swallowed by a red mechanical lion,” he chuckled back, trying to ease the tension.

  
“Um, well, I’ve got my work cut out for me, then…” Keith sighed, breaking eye contact and looking down to his shoulder. He rubbed it lightly, the purple skin still there.

“Look, Keith, just come straight out with it. I can handle it.”

“Haaa…. Right, so you know how I found Galra armour, can read Galra, and… Ahhh.. I don’t know how to explain this…” Keith heaved, and began to hyperventilate again.

Shiro let out a nervous cough, “I think I see where you’re getting at, but… How? Aren’t you… Aren’t you human?” he asked, gesturing to Keith’s body.  
“Half, at least… Look, I don’t know how… I just know I am, but that’s not the important part, just let me think about how to explain this…”

“No, you look,” Shiro sighed, and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, “Keith you helped me escape and you almost died to help me along the way… I don’t care if you’re Galra, Human, or some carnivorous alien that eats Humans… But I trust you…”

“Right, but what if I told you…” Keith took a deep breath before he quickly spout, “What if I told you I was the son of the ruler of the empire that kidnapped you and possibly tortured you and obviously experimented on you?!”

“You’re what?! How does that… Then how are you half… What…?” Shiro questioned, curious; his hand stood placed on Keith’s shoulder.

“Again, I don’t know that but I know apparently I’m a half-Human and Galra prince…”

“Right… Well if you’re Galra, I doubt your name is Keith.. What is it, really?”

“Ketih… K-E-T-I-H in human letters…”

“I think my brain had an auto-correct moment when I heard your name… But, which name do you prefer?”

“Keith… I think… I don’t like the name Ketih, anymore…”

“You wanna talk about it?” Shiro offered.

“Ah, no… Not right now… But thank you, Shiro… You’re very accepting…” he nervously smiled at him.

“Considering you were ready to sacrifice yourself for my safety, it’s the least i can do, Keith,” he smiled back and patted him on the back.

“So, the lion swallowed us both… But who’s the pilot?” Keith asked, looking around them.

“I think it’s on auto-pilot right now, but it refused to let me pilot it. I think it was waiting for you.”

“Me? I literally yelled at it.”

“I’m pretty sure it was waiting for you to pilot it. Don’t think it would’ve bothered saving you if it didn’t.”

“Riiiiight…” Keith scoffed, suspicious as he got up to lean against the pilot’s seat. “This stupid ass, giant cat. Only useful when you’re on the edge of death,” he mumbled.

The ship suddenly flung on it’s side and both men slammed into walls, the lion straightened out ccand continued to fly.

“What the shit!” Keith cried out.

Shiro attempted to hold his laughter but couldn’t. “I think she heard you, Keith.”

Keith sat up and rubbed his chest, “Tch…” He stood up and made his way back to the pilot’s chair. “Are you actually going to let me pilot you or are you just going to fling me around?” he retorted to the lion.

The lion purred in response.

“Woah, did you hear that?!” Keith jumped.

“What?”

“The thing- the lion. It fucking purred at me!”

“That’s good?”

“I don’t know! How did you not hear that? Maybe I made a mistake…” Keith began to fret.

The lion flung itself in the opposite direction, this time. Shiro held onto the pilot’s seat and Keith was thrown into the seat.

“That’s it. Fight me, you mechanical cat,” he complained.

“Keith, I don’t think it wants to fight you.”

When Keith fixed himself in the chair, a whole control panel appeared in front of him. Both men felt flabbergasted. “Woah…” Keith gasped in amazement as the lion purred again and controls rose to his sides.

“Now I’m more than positive she wants you to pilot her, Keith…” Shiro’s eyebrows arched up his forehead in amazement.

“Amazing…” Keith whispered, “Good kitty…” before he took a deep breath and placed his hands on the controls, leading the lion forward.

After a few ticks of Keith piloting the lion, a large circle opened in front of them. The lion began to signal Keith and convince him to go through.

“Shiro… She wants me to go through…” he murmured to the other man. “I think I’ve lead you on for long enough, it’s time for you to make a decision for us…. Do we go through?” Keith asked and looked back to Shiro.

Shiro looked forward toward the wormhole and exhaled. “If your lion is telling you to… Then do it.”

“You sure, Shiro? This might be your last chance to go back home… I don’t want to drag you into something you don’t want-”

He was cut off as Shiro settled his hand on Keith’s back. “I’m sure, Keith. I trust you, and apparently also this lion… What ever’s passed it, we can handle it.”

Keith gave him a hopeful look, “Thanks da- Shiro. T-thanks Shiro. Really.”

Shiro nearly snickered at Keith’s reply, “Did you just almost call me dad?!”

“N-no! Goddess, I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Keith blushed profusely, “I would never call you dad, you’re nothing like my dad.”

  
Shiro continued to laugh, “Yeah, you have a point. I’ll let it slide for now.”

Keith sighed and Shiro’s chuckling came to an end. Keith inhaled and exhaled deeply as he looked forward back to the hole in front of them.

“Well, then…. Let’s see where this leads us...” he swallowed as the lion entered.

His muscles tensed up and Red began to try to comfort him, as well as Shiro. They ended up in front of a large planet, the lion beginning to pilot itself, again.

“Where is this…?” Shiro gasped.

Keith felt the lion purr as he watched the lion pilot itself towards a castle of sorts.

“ _Home_ …?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hoped you enjoyed this chapter! We'll be introducing the Alteams in the next chapter, get hypED!!!!!
> 
> Possibly angst next chapter, I haven't planned out the dialogue, yet, but expect some lowkey angst, at least, with in between the line reading.


	3. The Responsibility of Living

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Alteans awaken and Lance has the reality of his father's actions hit him like a robeast

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lance-centric chapter of the Alteans awakening? Yes, please! (Maybe a hint of Keith's perspective on there)
> 
> It's been awhile... I've been putting off updating this since the end of November because I hate updating on mobile, but hey. It's done, now. HORRAY.

_“Fa… er…?”_  
 _…_  
“Lan…?”  
…  
“Whe… Father?! An… ere’s… Lance…?”  
…  
“Where's my brother…?”

  
Mumbles of a voice he once knew filled his head. The voice of a loved one, asking for him, no less. They felt so near... It was filled with worry... Filled with anxiety… but why? Why can't he answer? Why can't he call out to her? Why couldn't he reach out to protect her and tell her everything was going to be fine? Why was he trapped? Restricted?

  
He couldn't feel his limbs but his chest felt like he was trapped on a frozen planet. Cold. Freezing. Like his heart emanated the very temperature of an ice core. His eyes refused to open. The darkness filled him with the sense of an endless abyss. Fear. Fear of the unknown. How did he get here?

  
_“I'm Al… ra…”_  
 _…_  
“How long… ere we asle…?”  
…  
“No… The oth… pods… I need t… open th…! Now!...”  
…

  
Why was he rendered useless now of all times? She needed someone. She was calling and crying out. She needed someone. She needed her family. Her brother. Why couldn't he move or even groan? He was useless. He always had been. Whenever anyone needed him he was never helpful. He just… was. He felt the need to cry back out to the voice and let them know he was here, but he didn't know how to. How to be useful or helpful. How to show he had worth. How to do anything, right now.

  
_“… dge! H.. k!... ran!... Ma…!”_  
…  
 _“Whe… re they?... ere did th… go?”_  
…

  
Now he felt he was listening in on a conversation everyone he knew but him was invited to. He probably just didn't matter enough to be invited. Maybe he was just there, but not really there. Maybe everyone knew he was there and purposefully ignored his very existence. Having called out his name to build his hopes up just to crush them with ignoring him… Purposefully, probably. Goddess knows he probably deserves this fate. Living… but not truly living… just there. Was this is the life he deserved for never proving himself or stepping up?

  
_“Why..? Why you all an… ot father or Lance?!...”_

  
He was there. Why couldn't they see him? Was he truly just nonexistent? Was this punishment? Hearing the one he was born to protect cry out for him as he just stood here? Unable to do anything? It was painful to just be and not be able to do anything.

  
_“… Wait.”_

  
This was a new voice. He’d never heard this one before. Who were they? Were they the ones making his beloved sister suffer? Or was he an ally? Here to help? Maybe they could see him… If only.

  
_“This one…? Is  i… empty?”_  
…  
 _“Can y… open it?”_  
…

  
He didn't know where he was but he hoped and prayed whatever the mysterious person was talking about was where he was. He wanted to be freed of the nothingness holding him down. He wanted to reach out and hold his sister. He needed something to keep him grounded, not drowning in fear or loneliness. He needed acknowledgment he was there. Someone to tell his sister and himself that he was really there. He needed validation, somehow.

  
Warm air begun to surround him as his hair brushed against his cheeks. The feeling of his limbs began to fill him with comfort as light cracked into his eyes as they opened. Fog filled the area he’d been in, obscuring the outside slowly opening up to him.

  
His legs under him began to grow weak at the sudden feeling of blood flowing and he began to fall forward. Began to, until he was embraced in warmth of someone who caught him and his head fell onto their chest and he closed his eyes. His eyes couldn't adjust to the brightness quick enough. Was this the mysterious voice person? This definitely wasn’t Allura who caught him.

  
“Lance!”

  
That was his sister's voice but where was she? The words didn't come from the one holding him. Who was this? They had a pretty flat, hard chest. Were they Altean or Alien? Maybe guy? Though, he did know quite a few races that didn't fall under a gender spectrum. Not to mention races with female with flat chests. Boy whether they warm, though. He'd have to… ‘Thank’ whoever it was holding him later.

  
“Lance! Buddy, you're here?!”

  
That was Hunk, most definitely. He heard feet pattering across metal towards him and whoever caught him was brought into another embrace with him and Hunk.

  
Once Hunk pulled away, he slowly creeped his eyes open to look at the person who’d caught him.

  
“You… You noticed me…?” Lance whispered to the person. His eyes began to water and he could help but stare into the person's eyes in amazement, an eyebrow arched, “Isu… Isuel…?!”

  
“Huh? … Where-…? W-who is that?” they stuttered under their breath.

  
Lance broke eye contact to bring his eyes down. No Altean markings? Then his eyes flew to their ears. His eyes squinted as he brought a hand up to their ear to lightly pull on it. Just like hers. Were they human? But how? “You- You aren't her… But your ears? What's wrong with your ears? They're just like…” Then he brought his eyes back to the dusty purple eyed, assumed alien, in front of him. His eyes grew as he stared into the other man’s eyes, whispering, “and you're eyes, they’re like hers, too-”

  
“That’s gay…” Pidge mumbled.

  
“That's what I said!” Allura gasped.

  
“What?!” Pidge jumped, thinking Allura heard her.

  
“Their ears are so weird!” Allura called out, bringing him back down to reality.

 

  
“Quiznak,” Pidge breathed in relief.

  
“Mhm,” Matt nudged Pidge.

  
“Their ears?” Lance asked, focusing behind the person who caught him seeing another man just like him. Two humans?

  
“That doesn’t matter, now, though! Lance, you're okay!” she cried, underlined by quiet giggling, pushing the human boy away and pulling Lance into her arms into another crushing embrace. Lance returned the suffocating hug and Allura began to tear up. “I was… I was scared… I was scared you left me, alone… You and dad, both. I couldn’t even begin to-”

  
Lance cut her off when he reached up to brush his fingers through her hair and buried her head in his chest. “No, don't finish that. I would never leave you behind,” not alone, anyways, “I was more scared you would leave me behind-” he began as he started to choke up, “but dad… I don't…” he started regaining the reason of being in a pod, “I don’t think he made it, Allura.”

  
Allura sighed deeply as her shoulders shook in the embrace. Lance moved to hold her shoulders and looked up to everyone surrounding them, solemnly. In front of him stood two men with black hair and dulled ears; as well, his bodyguard, Hunk, the Royal advisor, Coran, castle technician and mechanic, Pidge, and Pidge’s brother and his personal advisor, Matt. He noticed both Matt and Pidge’s parents were missing from the crowd and the other siblings were comforting each other like him and Allura. Not even Hunk’s mothers were present. The war they lived through affected everyone in the worst way, it seemed.

  
The war even took from Coran, who lost as much as he had. Lance’s father was a loving man, and the fact Coran was standing before them was further proof of his love for Coran.

  
“How long has it been?” Lance asked the crowd in front of him.

  
“10,000 years, apparently…” Allura answered in a raspy voice.

  
“Holy- Quiznak that's like… 1,000 plus ten…”

  
The man who caught him cleared his throat and mumbled, “I think you mean 1,000 times ten.”

  
“Oh, shut up, you-” he paused as he analysed the man, “-you mullet head.”

  
“Mullet? What's that?” the man asked as he looked to the other dull-eared man with a white strip of hair.

  
The other man gestured to his hair, “It’s your hair. I never really realised it, but he's not wrong…?”

  
“Of course I'm right!” Lance chided.

  
“I see nothing wrong with his hair,” mumbled Coran.

  
“I caught and cradled you in my arms and you offend not only my ears, but my hair, too?!” he growled, “You aliens are so fucking rude!” Keith hadn't even left a personal confinement of his father and his first interactions with other species haven't been the most intriguing. His father taught him most alien species were ‘savages’ but he never imagined they’d be this rude, especially after having freed them. Keith was wondering if leaving was even a good idea at this point. Maybe his father kept him away from aliens for a reason.

  
“Fucking? What kind of word is that?” Lance questioned.

  
“Ugh! You're just so fuc-”

  
“Keith,” the other man called out in a stern voice, “language.”

  
“I literally don't even want to hear you say that considering what you were saying back on the ship-” Keith retorted.

  
“I'm sorry, but what’s going on? Who are these people?” Lance interrupted, squinting his eyes and Allura finally pulled away to wipe her eyes and turn to the two men.

  
“You can't just ask that, Lance,” Matt nervously mulled behind him.

  
“They say they're humans,” she answered, voice cracking slightly.

  
“Humans?! So they are…! They’re like the primitive species that- You know, like Iseul’s race? They really are?!” Lance questioned, raising an eyebrow.

  
“Quite ironic that another lion would choose one of them, yes,” Coran answered in Allura’s stead.

  
“A lion chose one?! But the only one near their solar system is Blue- Don't tell me- She chose one of them again? But I was sure-” he started to fret.

  
“Lance, it's okay,” Hunk cooed and brought him into a side hug. “It was Red this time… Apparently they found her on a Galra ship-”

  
“WOAH. Are you guys hearing this?! They found Red on a Galra ship and this didn't raise any red flags?!” Lance broke out of the side hug to step protectively in front of the crowd of Alteans. “Explain yourselv-”

  
“LANCE,” his sister called out, demandingly, “yield!”

  
“Allura! I don't know if you knew this, but the whole reason we’re in this situation is because of the Galra. If they were on a Galra ship they could be allied with the-”

  
“Lance,” she called out again and reached for his shoulder, pressuring him back. “They're trustworthy. They were only abducted!”

  
“We all know what happened last time the Galra abducted a human and they even ended up piloting a lion, Allura! If they were abducted, they could've been brainwashed. I refuse to stand by and let history repeat itself!”

  
“And do what, Lance?! The lions have great judgement of character, and the bond is already formed. The only way to break it is to-”

  
“Yeah! I know! And if it means avoiding another planet being destroyed, then I would dedicate my life to finding anoth-”

  
“Stop!” Keith yelled, silencing both Altean siblings. “I don't know what either of you are speaking about, but who is Iseul and where are we?!”

  
Allura puffed angrily, and stood tall, walking from behind her brother to speak to the humans. “More introductions are in order. keith, Shiro, this is my brother. Lance, these are humans who released us from our pods. Keith here is the new Red paladin,” she explained, then went back to the prior question, dodging the first, “And this, where we are currently is the Castle of Lions. Home to the Paladin's of Voltron and their Lions.”

  
Keith only scratched his head confused, looking to the other man. “Shiro?” he asked and Shiro shrugged back.

  
“It would be easier to show you,” she continued. “Everyone follow me to the main control room. I have something important to discuss.”

  
Everyone nodded and followed her, Pidge exceptionally rushing to Allura’s side. Matt chuckled knowingly, following behind them and soon Keith and Shiro were whispering something to each other with confused and worried faces. Keith held his arm and Shiro rubbed where the hand was holding before Keith nodded to something, and after, going along with the others. Before Lance could exit the room, Coran pulled him to the side.

  
“Lance, I have something to discuss with you,” he started, “so if you could follow me for a little.”

  
“Yeah, sure, Coran. What's up?” he asked as he now began to follow Coran.

  
“I believe your father would like to speak with you.”

  
“Excuse me? Coran, you and I both know-”

  
“Listen, Lance. Just a little more and you’ll understand.”

  
They quietly continued to a room where Coran stopped at the door and gestured for Lance to step in.

  
“Please, take your time,” he smiled as he closed the door, leaving Lance confused as the looked forward. Suddenly, standing there was a hologram of Alfor. His father. His dead father. He quickly turned his back to the hologram and began to walk back to the door when he was called out. “Lance…” it called out. His hands curled into fists as he turned back around to glare at it.

  
“What do you want? What are you?” he managed to get out.

  
“Listen to me, I know how impossible this seems.”

  
“No kidding! You're dead- no, Alfor is dead! Why do you stand before me?! To confuse me?! Are you some ploy by the Galra to fill me with a sense of hope to just- crush it inevitably?!” he began to choke up and tears filled his eyes.

  
“No, I would never, Lance. Listen.”

  
“I don't know if I want to…” he blanched.

  
“Please, even if you don't believe me… Just listen,” Alfor pleaded.

  
“You definitely have my attention.”

  
“Before I died, I left a piece of myself for you and Allura. My memories, part of my quintessence.”

  
“You can… You can do that?” Lance began to process everything that’s just hit him in the last few seconds. He was still sceptical, of course. His father was before him and apparently having an actual conversation with him. Dead or not.

  
“Yes, it's an important role of the memory cores. I then had Coran process it before I planned to leave to make sure I wouldn't leave you alone with no guide… I knew you would need someone… Not just Allura, or Hunk, or Matt… Someone to help you grow as the leader I know you can be.”

  
“I'm no leader… I was only ever meant to be a leg… and just someone meant to die for a higher power...”

  
“Son. You're so much more than that.”

  
“I'm not wrong, though, dad.”

  
“Yes, you are.”

  
“Aren't I? You even meant to leave the throne to Allura! For Quiznak sakes, you left the lion’s life forces connect to her own-!”

  
“Lance that was a consciously a decision you agreed to so you could become her protector, and a lore keeper. You may never had received that position, but even that can be held higher in respects to the throne. Not to mention, you even pushed the idea onto me. You made it clear no paladin should ever be given the power of the lion’s lives-”

  
“That's only because I never felt worthy enough in your eyes! Those… They were just lies… Excuses!” he snapped, tears flowing down. “You stand there and reflect all my decisions back to me like I have to be reminded what I was and wasn't. Do you think of me so little to think I may stray from my duty or consequences of my decisions enough to feel the need to remind me constantly?!”

  
Alfor looked down and sighed. “Son, you know I think the most highly of you. There's no need to think of yourself through my eyes so lowly.”

  
Lance shook his head and continued, “and no paladin should ever have their life force tied to Voltron… That wasn't a lie. No life force should ever be given to someone who could die at any given moment in their life… Then the lions would be useless, even if it was just a minor slip-up!”

  
“Lance…” sighed Alfor.

  
Moments of silence filled the air as Alfor rested himself, but in a more comforting tone. "Lance...? What's wrong?"

"You sound like him... You even look like him... Are you really him? Do you remember everything like you claim? This place, even? This ship?... Do you really have any of his memories? It was here... In this castle... 10,000 years ago..."

  
“How could I forget…” Alfor inhaled deeply before looking back to Lance. “It was an important decision made to both of our lives…”

  
~~~~~~~~

  
Both Alfor and Lance were standing in the control room, Allura having already placed into a pod for her own stubborn safety. Now entering were Hunk’s mothers: Manal and Hunua. They filled the doorway and stood tall before Manal spoke.

  
“We have word from what’s left of Altea mission control…. It's… Worrisome. We put Hunk into a life pod for safe measures, like Allura and the Holt children.”

  
Hanua continued, “They gave word on your concubines, um… Your Ladyships… Ah, um… Avis… She's certain as stubborn as her child… She refused to leave her people in such desperate times. They tried to convince her, your Lordship, but she just…”

  
Alfor turned to look out the window and sighed. “It was inevitable… She's not easily moved from her people when they needed her most… And of Thurza?”

  
Both mothers looked to Lance. His eyebrows were furrowed as he paced the room. Manal continued to report, “She… Well, she made it but all is not well, sir. Her pod was attacked by Galra before they took off and she… Well she's gravely injured. No one else on the escapepod was hurt thanks to her, though. She went down as she made her way up: fighting. I’m sorry. The doctors in the escapepod don't believe she’ll survive long enough to make it to the life pods...”

  
Lance tsked as he stomped out of the control room to his own room. Pacing more, tears flowing down his face. This was it, he thought.

  
"Lance,” his father called out as a knock came to his door.

Lance finally fell to his mattress, legs having gave out. He weakly answered, "Yes?"

Alfor opened the door and frowned to see the state of which Lance was one. "Lance, I'm going to stay, and fight for what’s left... You don't have to do this with me."

"But I want to! I need to! I… I'll fill in mom’s space… Someone has to, I need to stay and fight for her. For you…!”

  
"For me? Lance… Please… Please, understand. If we lose, we'll be killed, and the lions will fall into Zarkon's hands. And even if we win, we won't even be able to go home... Altea will be destroyed soon, Lance… I can’t risk losing you like I now have your mother. I would never put your life at risk."

"But why would I have to go home when you're here?! When Allura's here?! Even the Lions! Well- except for Blue. Father, you can't form Voltron without her, don't throw your life away! I can pilot her, I'm ready! Just bring me to her! We can fight back, we can win!” Lance was answered with a solemn shake of the head from his father then continued, ”How can you ask me not to risk my life for you when you're about to do what you're trying risk your life for your people? It's a tad hypocritical, dad! At least with me piloting you'd have a slim chance at surviving this!"

"...” Alfor contemplated in silence for a few ticks before answering, “My dear prince... I know how much you truly cared for Altea... You don't have to hide it. And your mother meant a lot to both of us... I know you're torn apart..."

"But, dad…! I’ve got to care about your safety first and foremost. It's my job, you know? To take care of you and Allura... For mom, and Allura’s mom… It's what they would've wanted, I just know it!... Even for Coran’s sake… And it's what I want. It's my responsibility as the eldest-"

"I know, son... I understand how you’re feeling, but you must know it's also my duty to protect you.”

  
“I’m old enough to protect myself,” Lance scoffed.

  
Alfor sighed once again, “I know, Lance.” He reached his hand out to Lance, smiling as bright as he could enable to comfort his son. “Here, come to me, Lance.”

Lance chuckled, wiping his eyes to get the tears out of them, reaching out to take his dad's hands.

  
“I’m sorry for making decisions for you, Lance, but I need to assure myself you both live on and succeed where I failed,” he whispered.

  
“Dad- What are you talking about?”

  
“I love you,” he whispered as he reached out to Lance’s face and Lance began to black out.

  
~~~~~~~~~~

  
"Everything I ever did... I tried to do it for... Him- Er, You... But I'm still here... And now you're… This. I wonder, now, if he- You can really see me as what I am. What would he- you... What would you say about me, now? The boy you so surely left here to protect your daughter that couldn't even protect you..." Lance began to cry out. Tears were pouring out at this point like a dam had finally broke.

"Son... I believe you have great potential... You are my one and only son, my one and only eldest child. I saved you from my fate because I felt you could do what I couldn't… You could help form a Voltron team worth saving the world without fault,” Alfor explained and reached his hand out again.

"Father,” he sniffled as he reached out only to have his hand go through his father’s. “Father!” he cried out, again, legs giving up underneath him, and he fell to the ground covering his eyes. “I’m so sorry, I failed you. I failed mother. I failed so many!”

  
“No, Lance. It was me who failed everyone. It's your turn now to prove you could do what I couldn't.”

  
“Really?” he asked, looking up to his dad as tears blurred his vision of the hologram.

  
“I wouldn't trust anyone else to protect what’s left of the kingdom and family, Lance. Allura may have been given the rule, but you were meant to protect her who protected it. I know you haven't failed. You haven't even began the journey meant for you, and you alone.”

  
Lance couldn't stop his tears as he looked back down as the tears poured through his fingers. “Thank you, thank you so much…”

  
“No… Thank you for doing what I can't.”

  
With that, the door opened as Coran walked in. “We’ve all suffered losses, Lance,” he cooed, “but only one of us have been given the trust to carry everyone through it.”

  
Coran kneeled down to bring Lance into a hug and Lance leaned into him as he quieted down. Silence filled the room as the hologram faded and Lance began to collect himself. After a few more ticks, Lance sat up and Coran patted him on the back. “Are we ready to go find your Lion, my boy?” Coran chuckled.

  
“Right… I've got somewhere to be,” Lance weakly smiled as Coran helped him up. They walked out of the room to finally make their way to the control room and join everyone. He was finally given a purpose, and he wasn't about to let his father and everyone else down. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WE MADE IT! Pretty sure the next chapter PoV is going to be omniscient, but hey! We'll see when we get there. Hope you enjoyed my late ass updating.

**Author's Note:**

> Did you enjoy it? There's a lot more to come, so hold on tight! Any criticism and comments are welcomed, I really hope you guys enjoyed it.
> 
> My Tumblr: Acequisitor
> 
> Feel free to hit me up with prompts or anything you want~!


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